Me, Myself, and Naruto?
by silverwritinggoddess
Summary: This is just your typical story of how a teenager enters a new world through her dreams and of her desire to escape the misery she suffers at the hands of her parents. In this new world, she will have new friends, enemies, and a family she can call her own. Will she be able to keep that happiness? Find out! Re-written and may follow a certain timeline.
1. Chapter 1

A/N: Alright. I hated what I had posted here initially and after much talk with a fellow writer, I've decided to start completely over! This story needed new life and here it is! Thanks for understanding and I would like to thank 9tailsfox2 for helping this newbie out! Hope you guys enjoy this new version! My source of inspiration was from "Bleach" and the soundtrack that I listened to was "Never Meant to Belong."

Me, Myself, and...Naruto!?

I sighed heavily as I tried to cover up the bruises on my arms and the black eye I had sustained after my drunken parents beat the crap out of me. They told me I was just a mistake that had been born from their passions. There were days that I felt like a mistake and often wished that I had never been born. Life had been a bitch and it continued to be so since I was fourteen years old. I would have to put up with this shit for the next four years before I could take my leave and begin a new life elsewhere and away from this hellhole. I left my bedroom bathroom and re-entered my bedroom, which was dark and bleak. The walls were a plain white, but now, in the darkness, they were faded into a dull shade of gray. The place was devoid of life. I had no pictures of friends or family on my dresser or on my nightstand simply because I had none of each to speak of. My situation wouldn't let me have any of those things and nor did I wish to. Why would anyone hang out with me? I was nothing more than a freak...a freak who often turned to fictional characters for friendship and consolation.

The anime world often kept me company in times of despair and sadness. "Naruto," especially, was my closest companion. Our situations were rather similar in someways. Friendless and no family to speak of, with people despising us, we both had to rely on ourselves to survive no matter what. Unlike me, though, the blonde, knucklehead ninja somehow found the will to live and pushed on with his life, despite what he had to deal with in his life. He had aspirations and dreams of becoming the best ninja there was and of becoming the Hokage of the Hidden Leaf Village. It was his motivation to keep him moving. As for me, I had none of that. I had no ambitions or dreams to talk or boast about. Why should I? My life was dark and bleak, much like my bedroom. Things were hopeless for me. The only thing I really had to look forward to was adulthood, but what else would I accomplish? The only thing I would only accomplish would be leaving this place. It was something I would look forward to but what about afterwards? What would happen then?

_It's hopeless._ I thought. _There's nothing for me here._

I decided to sit down and pull out my sketchbook. I smiled as I flipped through all of my completed drawings of various "Naruto" characters. I had also drawn a few other anime characters, such as Yugi and Joey from "Yu-Gi-Oh" and Inuyasha. I often wished I had Inuyasha's and Naruto's might and ferocity while I had Yugi's brave soul and heart. They were characters that I admired very much and there were times that I spoke to them as if they were real people. It sounds crazy and perhaps it was but it brought me much comfort in my loneliness. They were my family.

"MINA, YOU PIECE OF CRAP, GET DOWN HERE!"

Damn. That was the evil, drunken, bitch that called herself my mother. Even when she wasn't drunk, she was still quite abusive. When she didn't get her way, she would often find something to take her anger out on me, which was me 100% of the time. Father was just as abusive, whether he was drunk or not. He had a nasty temper on him when something went wrong and, if I was nearby, he would slap me across the face or whip me with a belt. In spite of all of that, I couldn't find the will to hate them both. Strange, huh? I locked and bolted the door to my room, knowing she would haul my butt out if I didn't come out. Father was not at home, so he couldn't discipline me and wouldn't for another week since he was busy with the black market. The man was also a dealer in stolen goods and drugs and made a killing off of all that. You would think I would get a share in that, but no and, quite frankly, I'm glad I don't have a share of that dirty money.

Sighing again, I set to work on drawing Itachi Uchiha, Sauske's older brother. He was one of my favorite characters in the series. I guess it was because he was strong and powerful. I didn't think he was evil, unlike the younger Uchiha. I stayed up most of the night, trying to perfect his facial features. By the time I was finished, mother had passed out from her drunken rage and hit the hardwood floor in the living room with a hard thud. It was two o'clock in the morning when I looked at the clock. I decided that I would begin with another project. I opened the season 0 manga of "Yu-Gi-Oh" and started to search for another person to draw. I called the very first manga series of "Yu-Gi-Oh" season 0 because, on T.V, it isn't aired. The series begins with Duelist Kingdom here in the United States and for good reason.

I finally settled on Ryo Bakura and started to draw him, entranced by his innocent, yet haunted eyes. I was always fascinated by them because he was haunted by a demon, much like I was. I fell asleep before I could complete his face and I entered a world beyond my wildest dreams...and quite literally.


	2. Chapter 2

A young shinobi of sixteen years old was out training with one of his clones at the local training ground, focused on becoming the greatest ninja to have ever existed. He was a tall young man with bright, blonde hair and possessed a pair of bright, friendly, blue eyes. He had the purest of heart, despite the miserable past he had lived through as a child. As much as it pained him, he did not let it affect his training or his dream of becoming the next Hokage of the Hidden Leaf Village. In fact, he used it as motivation to pursue his dream. He wanted to gain the respect of his peers. Uzamaki Naruto was determined to never let anything get in his way and vowed to protect everyone that he loved. That was his ninja way.

The young ninja finally took a break from his intense training. His famous orange jumpsuit was all torn up and dirt covered every inch of his tall and muscular frame. He was about to plop down onto the ground when he sensed an unfamiliar presence nearby. He hopped up and pulled out his kunai knives, prepared to attack the intruder when he heard a small whimper and a cry for help. Naruto immediately tracked the owner of the voice and came upon a girl of fourteen years of age.

"Hey," Naruto said. "Wake up."

He gently rocked the unconscious girl, hoping that he could wake her up. As he tried to wake her up, he noticed several bruises on her arms and spotted a poorly concealed black eye. The young shinobi frowned and decided to take this stranger to the hospital. He carefully lifted her up and cradled her in his arms before leaping off into the distance and towards the hospital.

"Sakura-chan!" Naruto called loudly.

"Keep it down, Naruto." A pink-haired girl scolded. "This is a hospital, you know."

This was Haruno Sakura, the resident medical ninja. She trained under the current Hokage, Lady Tsunade, and gained superhuman strength during her training. The konoichi sported a red top with white stripes and wore black shorts. She wore her ninja headband to hold her bubblegum pink hair up. Her emerald eyes shone brightly underneath the hospital lights but they dimmed when they spotted the unconscious girl in her friend's arms. Naruto explained that she had been attacked by someone, based on the black eye and bruises on her arm. As to who attacked her, he didn't know. Sakura sighed but she was willing to help this stranger. She sensed no danger, but she knew that the girl had to be questioned sooner or later by the Hokage.

"You do know that I have to report this to the Hokage, right?"

The blonde ninja nodded solemnly before handing the patient to Sakura.

Naruto remained in the hospital room with the mysterious girl as he waited for the Hokage to arrive. He admired her silvery blonde hair and he could see through the black eye that she was a very pretty girl. He hoped that the Hokage would let her stay here in the village because he got the sense that she was alone and had nowhere to go. He had no idea why but he did feel that way. It was rather strange. When she woke up, he stared into beautiful violet eyes. However, when he looked deep into them, he found sadness and endless despair inside them. The sadness that he saw very nearly matched his own when he was growing up. He saw trauma and some resentment. It was as if she had been attacked by someone that was supposed to love her. A pang of sorrow rolled through the young ninja's body.

_What have you gone through? _He wondered.

"So," a voice broke in. "She's waking up. Good."

The blonde looked back and came face to face with the fifth Hokage herself. Her long blonde hair fell down her back in pigtails and her brown eyes had taken a serious look. She was about to scold the young man about bringing potential enemies into the village when she saw the pain and sorrow in his blue eyes as he stared at the girl. That was when she became concerned for the pure-hearted boy. It was unlike the bubbly blonde to be so down. She looked over at her patient and saw the same pain in Naruto's eyes in hers. She still had to interrogate her patient but she sensed that this girl was far from the threat that she had been worried about. In fact, this girl was nowhere near the Akatsuki level. There had been reports of them roaming around the area from Jiraya, specifically one Uchiha Itachi and his partner, Kisame, in search of the legendary demon containers. She sighed before she sat down on a chair and started working on her patient and found more than she expected.


	3. Chapter 3

I had been in a deep sleep for a very long time. I dreamed that I had been rescued by ninjas and taken to a save haven, away from the misery that I suffered from. There was no one to hurt me in this world. There was nothing but pure happiness and it was a lovely feeling. I had friends and family to call my own, although they all resembled characters from "Naruto". Everyone loved me and I loved them back. The dreams I saw in my sleep, however, was far from the reality that I had to deal with at home. It provided me a sense of safety and security, even though, it was just an escape from that horrid place that I called home.

_I don't want to wake up._

The beautiful images of a new life slipped away from me as I began to wake up and return to reality. Ugh, I didn't want to go back to that ugly place. My vision was rather foggy. In my foggy vision, I could make out the vague image of a blonde haired woman in a green robe. I blinked several more times to clear my vision and she was met with a serious-looking Tsunade. Tsunade? I thought I was still dreaming. There was no way that I could be in the "Naruto" world. The Hokage's brown eyes softened after seeing the confusion on my face, but I knew that there were many questions that were to be answered, including how I even got into the Hidden Village of the Leaf in the first place. That question was bound to come up and the truth was the only answer I would give.

"Looks like somebody beat the hell out of you." She said. "Do you care to share that?"

"My parents." I replied sleepily. "It's even worse when they're drunk."

Naruto grunted in anger, prompting the fifth Hokage to shush him so she could listen to my story. The Hokage clearly understood his anger, though. She was all too familiar with the young shinobi's past and so was I, though I wasn't about to admit it out loud. I was almost tempted to chuckle at this situation because, here I was, talking with fictional characters. I had been doing that last night as sketched said characters before falling asleep. Come to think of it, I remembered that I had locked myself into my room and falling asleep on my sketchbook. Perhaps my strange habits had translated into this wonderful dream. I decided that I would embrace this dream.

"Is this a dream?" I muttered.

"This is no dream." The Hokage replied.

I blushed. I hadn't meant to say that out loud. I sighed. Insanity must have been kicking in. I shook my head. I knew that the Hokage was quite curious as to why I was acting this way and especially after the comment I made about this situation being a dream. I suppose that should have been a clue that this wasn't a dream, but my denial had gotten the best of me. It must have been written all over my face (I'm a very transparent person, apparently) because she reassured me that where I was at was no dream. Everything around me was very real, but I needed to take things slowly.

"You must have been beaten pretty good." Naruto said.

"Quiet, brat." Tsunade growled.

I giggled. Even if this wasn't a dream, which I still doubted, I would make the best of the situation and enjoy whatever happiness might come my way. Tsunade continued her interrogation, which I answered as truthfully as I could without sounding crazy. She finally conceded, after finding no deception on my part, and told me that I could stay. I would have to find my own apartment, of course, and get a job. That was when she recruited Naruto to help me.

"After all," she said. "You were the one who brought her here."

Naruto pouted, which I thought was cute, before he said that he would help me once I got out of the hospital. Tsunade had apparently found that I had a damaged kidney (no doubt from one of my beatings) and, possibly, a damaged heart (also from one of my daily beatings). Those two things would keep me in the hospital for a while longer while she made sure that I wouldn't have any serious problems in the future. I couldn't help, though, but wish that I really did have serious injuries. If I did, I would die in my sleep and my parents wouldn't have to deal with me in the future. Naruto must have known about what I was thinking because he said:

"A good person, like you, shouldn't wish for death." He growled. "It's not worth it."

He was right, of course. If I had chosen to take my life, now, then my parents would win. It would confirm that they had power over me and I refused to give them the satisfaction of knowing that. I looked up at Naruto, with a new energy that I hadn't felt in years, and gave him a big, genuine smile. It was a real smile and it felt good to smile again. He returned my smile with his big, goofy grin. How I loved that big grin of his. It was so infectious and contagious. How can one not smile when he was around? Naruto spent most of the day with me, talking about life in the Leaf Village and about the people he knew. It was awesome to hear about fictional characters from another character's point of view. It was refreshing and seeing Sakura hitting Naruto over the head was pretty awesome, too, not to mention freaking hilarious. I never thought I could laugh so much. After all, my life before awakening to this one had been devoid of life, love and happiness. There was no laughter. There had been only grief, misery, strife, violence and hatred. I believed that I would have drowned myself in alcohol, instead of anime, had I continued to live with my parents. I believed that this dream would offer the possibility of a better reality. I hoped that was true.


	4. Chapter 4

I was finally released from the hospital a week later. Naruto found an apartment for me near his. It was a secluded area but that was how I liked it. A lot of the village people gave me looks of pity but I returned those looks with scowls and glares. They felt sorry for me because I was being helped by the demon of the village. They couldn't tell the difference between a human and a demon. It was disgraceful. The tall boy just ignored their hateful stares as he showed me the sights of the Leaf Village. He was just happy to be jabbering away about his favorite spots, like the ramen shop. He decided to treat me-which was strange to everyone in the shop, since he usually left the tab on someone else-and it was good. I have to admit that I was disgusted at first when I witnessed him inhaling his food, but I was left giggling by the time he finished all nine bowls of ramen. It was just so funny to watch. Just seeing Naruto's face, though, brought me some joy. His blue eyes were wide with shock before he started to laugh with me. It was a very pleasant sound to hear.

We spent most of the day getting to know each other. I already knew most of his likes and dislikes, just based on the earlier episodes of "Naruto." Come to think of it, I wasn't sure what timeline I had woken up. I subtly studied Naruto's jumpsuit, which was black and orange, and that indicated that I was in Shippuden. If I had been in the first timeline, he would have been wearing a straight orange jumpsuit and he would have been a whole lot smaller than he was now.

_And twice as goofy._ I thought.

I had to wonder where exactly where I was in Shippuden. It seemed to be towards the beginning of the new series. There was no sign of Sai anywhere and there was definitely no sign of Sauske. If what Lady Hokage had told me that this was reality and not a dream, then there was a good chance that my presence here could easily alter events of the Narutoverse. Case in point, Naruto had actually paid for the ramen that he had devoured, along with my bowls which is something he never did before. It seems like a minor detail at the moment, but even the smallest of details could affect something big, like the future and the world for that matter.

"Hey, Mina!" Naruto yelled. "Snap out of it!"

"Don't be rude, brat!" A male voice demanded.

"Whatever, pervy sensei." Naruto snarked.

That was followed by a loud thud, which sounded very much like a punch to the back of someone's head. I came out of my thoughts and came face to face with none other than the pervy sage himself, Jiraya. I instinctively hugged my moderate sized bust. A sweatdrop appeared over Jiraya's head, along with a look of rejection, and I heard an obnoxious chortle from Naruto. Of course, that chortle earned him another whack to the head and a cry of pain escaped the blonde. A huge lump appeared on his head.

" I never seen her before. Is she your secret girlfriend?" He asked in a conspiring tone. "You dog!"

Naruto gave the legendary sanin a dirty look before replying in the negative. He explained the entire situation, sparing me the unnecessary attention. Thankfully, he left out some of my personal history, though I knew that Jiraya was already suspicious about the fading bruises. When I had left the hospital earlier, I checked to see if my bruises were completely gone. To my disappointment, they weren't completely gone. They were healing, though, but they still told a powerful story and seeing that I wasn't a ninja of this village, he could only guess as to what my history was. The serious look on his face told me that he had guessed exactly what my circumstances were.

"You were beaten, weren't you?" Jiraya asked in a soft voice.

"Yeah." I said dejectedly.

Jiraya seemed to understand my pain. He would because he was also aware of Naruto's past as well (who wasn't?) and he knew exactly how the boy was treated. Naruto placed a comforting hand on my shoulder. I tried not to shrug it off, per my habit when I lived at home. It was something new. Being touched by someone in a comforting way was something I needed to get used to. If I had shrugged one of my parents off, it would have resulted in a severe punishment. Most of the time, that punishment was a whipping and a beating. Apparently, my fist had curled into a fist because the sanin then said:

"You resent those who hit you. That much is clear. I'll tell you what. I'm more than willing to put you through some training. How's that?"

It was something I hadn't considered. Of course, my thoughts reverted back to the alteration of the Narutoverse. If I did become a ninja, just how much of the Shippuden Era will I change? I've seen the entire season and the results of the episodes of Shippuden. My presence here could easily change the entire story line in my world. This was something serious that I had to take into consideration. Should I do this for me? I mean, I wanted to start a new life away from my parents and here was an opportunity to do so. However, to do so would mean the alteration of an entire world (if it was even real) and I didn't want to be responsible for whatever consequences that I would face. This was quite a dilemma.

"Give it a few days." Jiraya said. "You don't have to make a decision right away."

"Right. Thanks." I said.

He nodded before departing towards the Hokage's office. Naruto commenced chattering into my ear, promising that he would introduce me to all of his friends. I sighed contently, even though being treated kindly and with respect was going to take some getting used to.


	5. Chapter 5

"The girl's got potential." Jiraya argued.

The legendary sannin was leaning against the wall in the Hokage's office, speaking with Tsunade about Mina. He had sensed a latent power in her and he wanted to bring it out. He suspected that her built-up power was from years of abuse that she suffered at whoever beat her. If she was trained properly, she could be a powerful asset to the village. Tsunade admitted that was a good point, however, she pointed out that Mina could easily turn her back on the Leaf, like Sauske had.

"How do we know that she won't do what he did?" Tsunade demanded.

"She won't." Jiraya replied. "Naruto has a good influence on her. As long as she remains with him, she shouldn't turn her back on us."

Besides which, he thought, she had nowhere else to go. That was why Tsunade had Naruto help Mina out in the first place so she could get settled and established in her new life. Apparently, just because the girl wasn't a threat initially, according to the fifth Hokage, she could easily become one later if she was trained. She had a valid point, though, Jiraya had to admit, considering what had happened with the Uchiha boy. However, he had a good feeling that Mina would not turn her back. When he saw her interacting with Naruto, he knew that she would grow as a ninja and develop good moral values and the blonde knucklehead would help her.

"So, do you propose training her with Naruto as a support system?"

Jiraya nodded. Tsunade gave some serious thought to his proposal. She sighed after awhile. He had made some valid points that she could no longer argue. She stared him down with her serious brown eyes and said:

"So be it."

* * *

Mina's POV

I was hanging out with Naruto and some of his friends, whom I had just met today, when Jiraya showed up out of the blue. It scared me so badly that I had actually punched him. I punched him so hard that I had actually sent him flying across the village. Everyone just had looks ranging from shock to total indifference (Kakashi, of course, who just showed up to socialize). Kakashi just had a deadpan look on his face, or in his eye, considering that he still had that stupid mask on. Naruto then started to laugh out loud.

"Good hit!" He exclaimed.

"Don't scare me like that!" I screamed.

Jiraya was a little bit slow getting back to us. I could have sworn that I heard him mutter about being too old for this, which made me smirk. He deserved it for scaring me. I gave him a withering look when he looked back at me. He admitted that I had hit him with pretty good force, which was pretty good for a rookie. I cocked my head, kind of like a puppy who was trying to understand what was being said. Kakashi, on the other hand, knew right away where the sannin was going with that last statement.

"You plan on training her?" He asked.

"Huh?"

I had forgotten that Jiraya had offered me the opportunity to become a ninja. I hadn't made my decision officially, but I was more inclined to accept the offer. I had realized that I hadn't woken up in my world and that was when I came to the conclusion that everything around me was real. I was no longer living in what I thought was reality. My desires for a change in life had come true. I looked back to the older ninja, who saw that I had made my decision.

"I'm definitely willing to train." I said with resolve.

Naruto cheered me on, though he hadn't been expecting that he would be helping me with training. Kakashi, though, had to remind the sannin that I had to go through the Academy and learn all of the basic things that were expected of ninja. I was okay with this. If I was going to survive in this world in which the Akatsuki were the main antagonists then I needed to learn everything that I needed to know. Jiraya then turned to the rest of the group and told them to help me out whenever I needed, although Naruto would be my primary tutor. He eagerly agreed to this, which made me rather happy.

"Your training with me will begin after you get through the Academy." Jiraya said.

I nodded.


	6. Chapter 6

The Academy was very interesting place and rather easy to understand. Then again, it kind of helped that I knew what was being taught, thanks to a simple invention back in my world called television. I remembered various hand signs that were made in order to perform several jutsus, including that clone technique that Naruto had so much trouble with in the beginning of the series. Iruka Umino, the instructor, was a very kind and patient man and I could see why Naruto admired and respected him so. It was probably because Iruka treated him like a person and not as a demon container. I guess that was why I considered Iruka another one of my favorite characters in the Narutoverse. He was pleased that he got to work with me and how I progressed fast. I had to admit that I didn't think that I would be able to understand all the hand signs and jutsus involved, but I did. I excelled in taijutsu and genjustu. I was decent in ninjutsu, but taijutsu and genjustu were my areas of concentration.

"Show me a shadow clone, Mina." Iruka instructed.

Class examinations were today and they also determined whether we graduate or get held back another year. I was determined to get through this thing and determined to be just as good as Naruto or, maybe, like Sakura. I've always had a fascination with the medical world, even back home. I would always watch those medical shows like, _E.R Mysteries_, or _Trauma: Life in the E.R._ I've always wanted to help other people. Iruka said that I had excellent chakra control and having such control would definitely be beneficial to becoming a medical nin. I sighed before focusing on my hand signs and developing the perfect clone for the instructor. Right next to me, a perfect clone of myself appeared. Iruka praised me and then instructed me to disguise myself as any ninja of my choosing. I smirked as I decided to use Naruto as an example. Needless to say, he was very pleased and I knew that I graduated.

I was later presented with my headband. I had to admire it and the symbol that indicated that I was a ninja of the Hidden Leaf Village. I traced the symbol with the tip of my finger before tying my hair up and putting on my prized possession. I was pretty damned proud of it. I started to walk off back to the main part of the village when I heard a certain hyperactive ninja shouting my name. I smiled as jogged up to me, with a few of his fellow ninja following behind. There was somebody missing, though. I looked around to see if I could find the pervy sensei and then I sweatdropped. He was probably off at the baths peeking at naked women. I huffed but I wasn't about to worry about that for now. If I didn't know any better, I would say that Jiraya would show up anytime soon if my calculations were correct.

"You made it!" Naruto cheered with a big grin on his face.

"Yep!" I grinned back.

Everyone congratulated me on my achievement and all of them were looking forward to what I would do next as a ninja. According to Iruka, I was to be placed on Team Seven, to fill in for Sauske. I frowned briefly, wondering what else in the Narutoverse had been altered, before I returned to reality. Sakura asked me about what field that I wanted to be in. I blushed. There were so many things that I could do, but I admitted that I wanted to help other people in need as a medical nin. I told her what Iruka told me but I also mentioned that I wanted to be a great fighter, like Naruto-who beamed. Sakura's emerald eyes brightened when she heard that I wanted to be like her. She then turned to Ino, who had tagged along as well.

"There you go, Ino-pig." She said teasingly. "You got yourself an apprentice."

"Watch it, forehead." Ino growled.

Before the two kunoichis got into it, Jiraya suddenly entered the fray...or more like bounced into the fray. He crash landed next to the group and then bounced a couple extra feet before coming to a complete stop. I saw a red hand print on his face, which meant that I had been right about his whereabouts. He stood up and dusted himself off. Naruto and I just stared at him, like he grew an extra eye on his face. The sannin pretended not to notice this but I saw the tick mark on his forehead. He was irritated and I knew that was because he had gotten caught by Tsunade. She was the only kunoichi (other than Haruno Sakura of course) that could send a man flying from one side of the village to the other side.

"Got caught, pervy sensei?" Naruto asked with a devilish smirk.

"Hmph."

"He did." I added, grinning.

"Alright, you two." Jiraya sighed. "So kid, I see you graduated. Are you ready to begin your training?"

I nodded. I was willing to forgo the celebrations and skip ahead to training. If the events involving the Akatsuki were to come to light, then I had to get down to business and start training. Jiraya must have seen how serious I was because he smiled approvingly before he took Naruto and me to Training Ground 44. I wasn't really surprised to see Kakashi there with his nose buried in one of Jiraya's books. Naruto huffed in irritation and I simply sighed.

"Well, kid," Jiraya began. "I guess we'll begin your training by letting you fight Naruto and see what you learned."

My eyes widened in surprise. Naruto was powerhouse and I wasn't expecting to fight him so soon, but I had to start somewhere. I became serious again and faced Naruto. He got into position just as I did. I ignored the audience and simply focused on my opponent. He would be extremely difficult to overcome, but I always believed that anything was possible if one put their mind to it. Once I got the signal to begin, I charged Naruto.


	7. Chapter 7

I wasn't about to back down from my test and Naruto knew it. He charged me too and both of our fists met and collided. The force of our punches caused a large crater in the ground, surprising everyone nearby. Tsunade just smirked as she heard the explosion while Shizune looked on in wonder and shock, who had, apparently, inquired about me. No doubt that the Hokage told her my story. Anyway, Naruto and I were going at it and neither one of us were letting up on each other. Blows were exchanged and blood was spilled from those blows, but they were worth every hit. It seemed that with each hit that I took, my strength increased and, soon enough, I was on par with the blonde ninja. His blue eyes sparkled with excitement as the battle intensified. He enjoyed the fight and I did too.

"Impossible..." Neji said, shocked.

He was using his Byakugan in order to keep up with our speed. I didn't really notice how fast we were moving. My eyes were standing fast on my opponent. He then summoned his shadow clones in order to pin me down, but I countered by doing the same thing and having the same number of clones on the training ground. We charged each other and then everything was covered with clouds of dusts. However, when it cleared up, Naruto was the only one left and this prompted him to keep his guard up. I made my move by coming from below and grabbing him by the feet, dragging him down into the ground.

"HA!"

My victory was short-lived, of course. I had celebrated a little bit too early because Naruto attacked me from behind and he would have gotten me with his Rasengan if I hadn't dodged it at the last possible second. I sighed and kept my focus on him. I wasn't going to be careless like that again and I would make sure of that.

"That was an impressive show." Jiraya said approvingly.

Naruto and I was sitting on the ground, huffing and puffing and high-fiving each other for a job well done. Sakura and Ino tended to our injuries and we were eventually back in fighting form. Jiraya gave us an hour to recuperate and have lunch before we really got down to business. In the meantime, the legendary sannin turned to Kakashi and discussed whatever they observed. As for the rest of us, we went down to the ramen shop and had some really good ramen. Naruto, as always, pretty much inhaled his food. Sakura and Ino whacked him across the head, causing him to choke, demanding him that he show some good manners.

"I don't have to listen to you two." He pouted.

"Please, Naruto?" I asked with my puppy dog pout.

Naruto came close to shedding over exaggerated tears before he agreed. I grinned while everyone sweatdropped, wondering why they never even thought of pulling the same stunt that I just did. I always thought that imitation was a form of flattery but as I thought of each character trying to imitate my puppy dog pout, I shuddered. Some of the images that I saw in my mind's eye were not very pretty. Maybe it was a good thing that they didn't try to imitate me.


	8. Chapter 8

Training with Jiraya was rough, surprisingly (considering he had a tendency to disappear to brothels after awhile), but it had been such a comfort to have Naruto around to cheer me on and pick me up when I was down. With each thrashing that I got, the stronger that I physically became and the bigger my chakra reserves got. Naruto and his friends supported me and treated me like I was a sister to them as I took on the trials and tribulations of training to become someone that I hadn't been. It was a nice feeling to be loved and wanted. I never thought that I would be granted my heart's desire, which was family and friends. Perhaps being transported to the Narutoverse was for the best, despite the consequences. Well, with each action, as we all know, there is a consequence and the consequence, in my case, came at the cost of altering the Naruto timeline. I realized that Sai was nowhere to be seen, which possibly meant that my presence had possibly delayed his arrival into the Leaf Village and onto Team Seven. That also included Yamoto, the assistant team leader, who hasn't made his presence known as of yet, that had gotten delayed. Then, of course, the Akatsuki's recurring role in the Shippuden timeline probably got pushed back further into the future. I sighed.

_Just how much did I change? _I wondered.

That was a mystery that would unfold as time went on. Speaking of time, I also wondered just how long I had been here in the Leaf Village. I asked Naruto about this, since he found me, and he said that only a week and a half had gone by. A week and a half. That time seemed like ages ago since I arrived and that made me wonder about how much time had passed in my world. The passage of time in this world and my world would have to be different. A week and a half here could easily mean that a year or two could have passed in my world. The continuity of time would definitely differ between each dimension. I doubted that my 'loving' parents missed me. I didn't want to go back and certainly hoped that nothing would send me back to that miserable hellhole.

_Alright, Mina. Think happy thoughts._

After being healed by Sakura, I decided that I would take it upon myself and work on throwing my weapons. Ten Ten volunteered to work with me since, after all, she was a weapons mistress and very knowledgeable in that area. I admired the tall kunoichi and how gracefully she moved. Jiraya said I was coming along well, but I felt like I could do with a bit more work where accuracy was concerned. That was why I decided to take up Ten Ten's offer of training. She and I spent the next couple of hours working on throwing senbon needles and kunai knives. Then she decided to take it up a notch and had me combine the two weapons. This was something I had wanted to work on because I was so clumsy. By the end of the afternoon, I was proficient in weaponry. As I walked back to my apartment, I realized that, despite the mistakes I had made, no one had yelled at me for being a failure. It was something I had been accustomed to so this epiphany took me by surprise. I smiled.

"I shall do a hundred laps around the village, if I cannot complete fifty push-ups!" Rock Lee declared.

Jiraya decided to give me the day off, pleased with my progress. I was pleased as well and very pleased with the fact that he hadn't tried to grope me anymore. Just getting punched once by me was enough for him to back off and take me seriously. That was another thing that I appreciated. Everyone took me seriously and even more so when they realized my potential of becoming a major powerhouse, like Naruto. I was sitting with said blonde, watching Bushy Brow (thanks a lot, Naruto) work himself. I knew that he was a zealous ninja by nature but to see it up close and in person made me sweatdrop. Naruto shared the same sentiment before flagging him down and preventing him from completing his ridiculous training regimen. Bushy Brow jogged up to the both of us, greeting us very politely with a bow and with a smile on his face.

Honestly, I was a little creeped out by Lee at first, but as I got to know him, I knew that he was someone to be admired. I briefly remembered the one flashback episode that took place during the Chunnin exams where Guy had taught him forbidden jutsus. Lee had been pushing himself hard as he skipped roped and other various exercises when he broke down and started sobbing so hard. He had gotten so frustrated with himself and suffered from enormous amounts of self-doubt. That was when Guy finally stepped in and took Lee under his wing and teaching him forbidden techniques.

"Someday we shall spar!" He declared.

Lee said he had observed my first battle with Naruto and said that he had never seen anyone with so much passion and determination in my eyes. I supposed that he was right. I was determined to become someone better than the old Mina. I wanted to be stronger and tough to beat. Hell, I wanted to be like Naruto. He was my idol. I simply smiled and nodded as Lee continued to ramble. Naruto, on the other hand, got bored and, eventually, tuned him out. The two of us were about to leave the training ground when Lee's adult clone-none other than Guy-tried to take me by surprise. I reacted quickly and blocked his whirlwind of attacks.

"That went better than I expected."

Kakashi appeared out of the blue and talked to Guy about attacking his students. Guy simply gave a hearty laugh and started on a tangent on how he intended to beat his rival. He admitted, though, that I had been taught well and that he must be proud to have an excellent student on his team. Sensei simply nodded but added that the legendary Sannin, Jiraya, had put me through some intensive training, which he had. Naruto gave me a slap on the shoulder and gave me a goofy grin. Yes...life was good.


	9. Chapter 9

A/N: Sorry if I haven't updated in a while. I work as a dietary aide at a local nursing home (if I haven't told you already in my profile) and I've been covering everybody's shifts left and right, which has left me wiped out. I hope you guys forgive me for not updating. Anyway, if you haven't seen Shippuden, don't read any further as this chapter contains SPOILERS, pertaining to the Akatsuki's goals and "Leader's" abilities, in the beginning. As usual, no copyright infringement intended. Thanks for reading and feedback is always appreciated. :)

The Akatsuki gathered around in the dark cavern that they called their base. Their figures were hidden not only by the darkness but by cloaks of black that were adorned with red clouds. There were a grand total of ten of them, with each member representing their respective and former villages. The one thing that they all had in common with each other: they were S-ranked ninjas from their former homes and the most wanted in the entire world. This was the first time in seven years that all of them were assembled together. As for the organization, it was widespread and spanned into several countries of the ninja world with many agents hidden in various areas. The goal for this organization: achieve world domination by capturing all nine tailed beasts, with them as their ultimate weapon.

The group remained silent as their leader turned his attention to his followers with his Rinnegan eyes. These Rinnegan eyes commanded respect. They allowed the wielder to use any technique as he wished and gave the wielder enhanced vision, thus allowing him to see all kinds of chakra and see through invisible barriers. "Leader" was a man that was considered to be an extremely powerful shinobi (almost invincible) and the most powerful member of the Akatsuki. He, as a man, commanded the utmost respect from his peers.

"Seven long years have passed since all of us have been together." An Akatsuki member pointed out.

"Indeed." Another agreed.

"Let's begin, shall we?" 'Leader' said.

* * *

Lord Kazekage," a Sand Ninja called.

A young man of seventeen stood on the balcony of his tower. His, short, red hair blew in the gentle wind and aqua eyes stared out in the openess of the desert. Garra turned around to acknowledge the Sand Ninja, who was bowing to him respectfully.

"The meeting is set to begin."

* * *

Elsewhere, in the open nothingness of the desert, two figures were slowly making their way towards the Sand village. They were both clothed in black cloaks with a pattern of red clouds adorned on them. One figure was tall, standing at about six feet or more, with blonde hair sticking out, while the other was shorter and hunched over (standing at about four feet tall). Both of their faces were hidden by conical hats.

"Everything is prepared, I take it?" The taller of the two asked.

"Yes, although this mission should have been completed two weeks ago." The shorter one grunted.

Due to unforeseen circumstances, the mission that the two S-ranked ninja of the Akatsuki were supposed to complete had gotten delayed by two weeks. Neither one suspected that the cause of the delay was actually caused by an alteration of events in their history. It was because of this alteration that events would come out to be different. Nothing that they had foreseen beforehand would actually come to be. Sasori and Deidara would be most surprised with the new events that would play out in a few short hours.


	10. Chapter 10

A/N: Major SPOILERS coming up here concerning Chiyo. If you haven't seen Shippuden, I recommend you watch that first before reading this. Thanks for reading and enjoy!

No copyright infringement intended.

I was training with Naruto, Sakura and Kakashi on the third training ground when I felt something weird. I stopped. Something had changed but I couldn't put my finger on it. The trio stopped when I stopped. I must have looked worried or something because Naruto approached me and started to shake me out of my reverie. That earned him a slap on the backside of his head from the pinkette. I told her to stop that and that he had every right to bring me out of my mind. I sighed. I couldn't shake that strange feeling.

"Something's bothering you." Kakashi stated. "Care to share, Mina?"

I looked hard at my current teammates. I once again thought about my arrival here to the Narutoverse and thought of the events that could have possibly been altered. That was when it all hit me. Events that would have happened prior to my arrival were happening now. I could see it now. The two members of the Akatsuki were approaching the village in order to capture Garra of the Sand. Should I tell them of this? Should I tell them of what I know and of the events that were about to occur? I know I can easily prevent such a dangerous occurrence from taking place, but was it the right thing to do? The future of Narutoverse was already changed because of my presence. Did I want to preserve whatever future was to come? Or should I just say 'screw it' and save the present Kazekage from becoming the victim of the Akatsuki? That was the question.

"I think you should share what's bothering you." Sakura said. "It'll make you feel better."

Naruto simply stared at me with worried blue eyes and nodded in agreement. I sighed before I reluctantly decided to tell them the truth about me. If I truly desired to help someone then it had to be done. I would worry about the consequences later.

"Before I begin, I should really tell you about myself and where I really came from."

I told the trio of my true origins and that my life WAS as horrible as I had described earlier to Naruto and Jiraiya. They were rather transfixed with my story. When I came to the part about my being from a different timeline, I wasn't surprised at their skepticism. It was hard to believe that I came from a place where I was able to view their world from another dimension. So I decided to take the plunge and told them about how the Akatsuki was going to attack the Sand Village and take Garra's inner demon. Kakashi jumped at the fact that I knew of classified information but I assured him that said event was taking place even as we spoke.

"The two Akatsuki members are on their way now." I said. "They are going to attack with a brainwashed member of the Sand Village."

Kakashi nodded, convinced that I told the truth, and sent for a messenger.

* * *

I was later summoned to the Hokage's office, where the Hokage made me repeat my story. I had no doubt that I wanted to help the Kazekage. Not only will my actions spare his life but it will also spare the life of Chiyo, the puppetmaster and Sasori's grandmother. I repeated the events that were to come. I told her how two members of the Akatsuki were currently on their way to the Sand Village. I told the Hokage that the initial stage of the invasion would be an inside job. One of the Akatsuki members, I said, had control over one of the soldiers of the Sand.

"His name's Yura."

Jiraiya, who arrived belatedly, entered the office with a serious look on his face as I continued my story. I finally ended my story with the warning if nothing was done soon, then the Kazekage would be captured and that the one-tailed demon would be extracted from him. Jiraiya frowned, somehow knowing that there was more to come, but said nothing. I just said that there was more to come if Garra was allowed to die and ended it right there. Lady Tsunade pressed me to continue my story, but her fellow Sannin put a stop to it.

"If what she says is true," he said. "Then she can't really say anymore without dramatically altering history as we know it."

"I guess you're right." Tsunade agreed tiredly. "However, I will put an alert out immediately to the Kazekage."

I produced a small book and gave it to the Hokage to look at. I noticed that the cover was blank. It was supposed to be a copy of the Shippuden series in my world but since history was changing, then I suspected things back in my world would be changing as well. History was changing and it wasn't affecting just this universe.


	11. Chapter 11

The Kazekage was sitting in his office doing paper work when he received the message from the Leaf Village. His brother, Kankuro, was visiting with him when the message came. He asked his young brother if it regarded the upcoming Chunin Exams that would be held, but he received silence as an answer. Gaara frowned as he continued to read and the older Sand sibling became concerned. It was another tense couple of minutes before the Kazekage rose from his desk and faced Kankuro.

"Find Baki and send him here as soon as possible." He said quietly.

Kankuro knew that there was something seriously wrong and immediately adhered to his brother's orders. He quickly bowed and vanished in search for the required shinobi. Gaara stared at the empty space where his brother had been before turning back to the window. As he stared out of the window, he thought he saw something flying about. Initially, he thought it was a bird (in which he was correct), but it seemed out of the ordinary. This one had too much chakra for it to be an ordinary creature. If that one part of the letter that concerned Yura was correct, then the village had already been infiltrated by the enemy. Gaara continued to observe the village with serious aqua blue eyes. He would not allow his village to be destroyed.

* * *

"Baki!" Kankuro barked. "The Kazekage needs you immediately."

A man in his early forties with a cloth over half of his face rose to his feet and immediately responded to Kankuro's orders. The seriousness in the younger shinobi's face told Baki that there was a serious security problem that needed to be addressed. Baki and Kankuro traveled back to the Kazekage, who waited for them to return.

"Find Yura and detain him." Gaara ordered.

Kankuro and Baki were surprised. Yura was considered one of their best men, but there was no time for questioning. Baki nodded and vanished in a puff of smoke, leaving a surprised Sand sibling behind. He had to know what was going on. Gaara knew what he wanted to ask and acknowledged his brother by stating:

"The Leaf Village sent a warning."

"A warning?" Kankuro asked.

His mind immediately went straight to his eldest sibling, Temari. She was in the Leaf Village, acting as a go-between as the Chunin Exams were being set up between the two villages. He knew that she was a good kunoichi, but nevertheless, she was his sister and he was worried for her well-being. If there was one thing that he cared about, it was his two siblings. He remained silent as he waited for his youngest sibling to continue.

"We are to expected to be attacked by the Akatsuki within the hour."

"Akatsuki..."

This was one of the issues that had just come up in the recent meeting that they had. Kankuro knew that they were a problem but for them to be making a move this late was a surprise. According to the letter, they had someone detail the attack that would have happened if the message hadn't been sent. Gaara explained that the two members were already on their way (but he was sure that they were inside the village) and that one member had the power of mind control, so he could possibly attack on the inside and decimate their guards.

"Hence your earlier order to detain Yura."

Gaara nodded. He explained that the Leaf Village had gained a very powerful ally and said ally was the one to provide the detailed information. The Akatuski were out gathering Jinchuriki to obtain the tailed demons in order to achieve world domination. Kankuro flinched since Gaara was one of the demon containers, according to the young informant. The puppet master had this discussion before with his brother but, now, things were heating up and fast. The Akatsuki was after him and Naruto. Wait a minute...

"Naruto!" He exclaimed.

The Kazekage nodded, remembering that Naruto, as well, was a Jinchuriki.


	12. Chapter 12

I trained hard all day and all night after being dismissed from the Hokage's office. I wasn't going to let myself fall down on the job. I was part of Team Kakashi now and I wasn't about to let my new teammates down. Everyone was surprised that I've risen up to Naruto's level in such short time and I was too. I suppose that my past as being a victim of abuse was what made me stronger not only mentally but physically as well. I could take all kinds of punishment. Killing my emotions off as well was rather easy since I couldn't show any weakness in front of my parents as they beat me. It was almost a year after the daily beatings that I was able to cut my emotions off.

I created two shadow clones for me and each of them represented my parents. I was so focused on my clones that I didn't realize that I had an audience. I gave the clones a hard look as they began to taunt me. This was what I wanted. Their insults and taunts motivated me to attack. I had a lot of rage from my horrible experiences. The pain came forth as I remembered everything that they did to me. Instead of lashing out though, I controlled my actions. I focused every movement that I made. This was the goal I wanted to achieve in my training. I needed absolute control. With control, I could easily manipulate the frightening strength that I discovered. Naruto had commented one day that I made Haruno Sakura and Grandma Tsunade look like kittens. He was lucky that neither one of them was around to whack him on the head. It certainly would have earned him a whack for sure.

_Don't lose your focus._ I thought.

I unleashed a barrage of shuriken and kunai knives, enveloping them with my primary element of fire and bolstering the attack with my secondary element of wind. If I combined my fire power with the wind, I noticed that the power of my attacks increase not only in size but in strength as well. The two clones barely dodged this attack. I decided to make a powerful tornado by spinning myself at high speeds. At the same time, a spewed a stream of fire, which made it a fire tornado.

_My fire spin._

This eliminated the two clones. I took in some deep breaths, reigning in my anger and pain. I decided to do some meditation to calm the anger that I felt. I had felt better than I had in a long time when I viciously attacked my clones, but the rage was still there so I decided to find another quiet spot in the village that was well suited for meditation. As I walked away, I was nearly ambushed from behind. I blocked it immediately, only to find Kakashi behind me.

"Good block." He complimented.

The both of us backed off and stood in relaxed stances. He asked me if the two clones that I had created were my parents. I nodded, my anger slowly subsiding. The two of us talked a little more in-depth about my past. This was the first time I opened up to anybody before and Kakashi had commented on it. He was right, of course. I felt like I needed to talk because it all came out. I didn't notice Shizune had showed up until she asked for the both of us to report to Tsunade's office.

"It's urgent."

* * *

When the two of us arrived, Naruto and Sakura was already there. Judging by the look on her face, I knew that the invasion on the Sand Village had begun. Apparently, Yura had taken out a few key point guards before being caught and detained by Baki. According to the Hokage, Kankuro had been the one to send the correspondence about the current situation. Tsunade gave me a critical look and I knew that I would become a rather useful ninja to her and the village. However, I would probably be useful to others in ways that I didn't want to be. I briefly wondered about the village council before turning my attention where it should be.

"It would seem that you were correct in your predictions." She said. "Baki caught Yura, who pretty much confessed to what he had done."

I nodded and waited for her to continue.

"However, one Akatsuki member has already infiltrated the village and is attacking."

"With clay bombs, I imagine." I said.

Tsunade nodded. She assigned us our first mission and that was to assist the Kazekage in his fight with the Akatsuki. I sighed heavily as I imagined the battle that was in flight. This was it. This was what I had trained for. We were dismissed and we were to leave as soon as possible.


	13. Chapter 13

I was worried when we caught up to Temari. Temari had the same sense of dread that I was feeling. The wind became cold and chilly when we told her what was going on. Anger and determination was written on her face as she traveled along with us. The silence was tense before Kakashi broke the silence and explained the entire situation concerning Garra. I didn't really have to listen to the conversation as it involved the Jinchuriki (meaning Naruto and Gaara). Naruto was rather quiet when his story came to light, which shocked and saddened Sakura. She didn't understand why Naruto had been treated the way he had been. She had followed Ino's example and ignored Naruto, not understanding the reason why.

_Now you know, Haruno._ I thought. _All this time, you hated Naruto without understanding the reason. You followed the crowd and ignored him, not knowing the kind of pain he suffered. Now, do you understand the pain he suffered as he grew up?_

I could tell that she felt absolutely awful with the way she had treated Naruto now that she was acquainted with his history, but I knew that Naruto would forgive her one way or another. He was a very kind, pure-hearted shinobi and Sakura was his friend, despite it all. This was one of the best traits in my teammate and it was one that I admired and respected. Temari then turned her attention to me and asked Kakashi about my involvement. She had never seen me before until now and she was curious to know who I was. I was prepared to tell my story but Kakashi decided to take the wheel and started to fill the blonde kunoichi in about me.

* * *

Gaara had used the last of his chakra as he attacked the intruder. He fainted, much to the shock of his brother, and was captured by the clay bird. The Sand Shinobi on the ground attacked the intruder until the order to halt was given. There was worry that they would inadvertently hit the Kazekage. They all looked on helplessly as they watched their leader being taken. Kankuro wasn't going to have it. That was his brother that was being taken away and he went right on after him, ignoring Baki's calls to stop. Baki, on the other hand, sent a team after Kankuro to make sure he didn't do anything foolish.

_Whatever you do, Lord Kankuro,_ Baki thought. _Don't die._

Kankuro continued his pursuit and came to the narrow opening at the mouth of the cliff that allowed entry into the Hidden Sand Village. He stopped and came across a grisly scene. By then, the team that was sent out to catch up with him arrived and were just as shocked with what they saw. He remembered that there had been a Sand Shinobi working for the intruders-who had since been arrested for slaughtering these guards-but there was something else that left him unnerved. He felt that something had been missed and overlooked. He entered the narrow entrance carefully and investigated the bloody scene before him, remembering that there had been two intruders to come to the village.

"Don't move anyone carelessly." Kankuro ordered.

The order came too late and there was a large explosion and large boulders came tumbling down on Kankuro and the team. Baki saw this from a distance and immediately departed for the scene, with a few other shinobi following him.

* * *

Tamari was staring at me by the time Kakashi finished the story. She wasn't sure what to think of me, but I could feel her subtle admiration for my decision to forego every principle that I knew of in order to save her brother from a terrible fate. I wasn't going to let an innocent person die because of an evil organization was after his inner demon. Kakashi explained that I had been formally trained and became one of them in order to go on this mission. I was the key to this operation. As we continued our journey towards the village, I felt a pang in my chest. The pang was so bad that I had to stop. I knew then that something big changed in the timeline. Naruto immediately fell back, concerned with my condition. I was touched by this because no one had ever shown me any compassion in my life. Maybe there was room for family after all.

"What's wrong?" He asked.

"History changed. We need to move faster."

Naruto made me get onto his back and we quickly caught up with Kakashi and the others, quickly explaining the situation. We picked up speed. There was no way that we could let that Akatsuki member take off with Gaara.


	14. Chapter 14

A/N: There is a SPOILER in this chapter in regards to Deidara. If you haven't seen Shippuden, then don't go any further; otherwise, enjoy the chapter! This is for the recent reviewer Kurotiger!

I recovered about a day into our journey and was able to continue without further assistance from Naruto. I decided to run a top the trees while the team ran below me. Temari had looked at me with a curious look on her face but I said nothing. She was already worried about Gaara as it was and I didn't wish to worry her further. Apparently, she couldn't let her curiosity go and joined me at the top of the trees. She realized that I was looking for something...or someone...and asked me what it was that I was looking for. I hesitated before telling her:

"The man that probably has your brother. He rides on a clay bird."

Her eyes widened at this revelation and decided to stay with me, determined to keep an eye out on the man that I had mentioned. The first half of the second day of travel, it went uneventful. However, the closer we got to the Village Hidden in the Sand, Temari spotted two figures out in an open field, just outside of the desert. I recognized their cloaks: The Akatsuki. Deidara was the one on the clay bird, I told Temari, and that was when I saw Gaara being held by the bird's tail feather. Kakashi, Naruto, and Sakura joined us at the top of the trees. I told the rest of the team which member was whom and what they were capable of. Temari was definitely listening closely as I explained their abilities, with her hand on her fan. I knew that handing this information over to the team would serve all of us well.

We waited.

* * *

_Gaara._

Kankuro had shielded himself and two other Sand shinobi from the team that had been sent after him, using his puppets. That was two more unnecessary casualties in the pursuit of the Akatsuki. He was pretty sure that Gaara was far away from where he was, but he was determined to go after him. The Kazekage, his brother, was very important not only to the village but to him as well. He left the two rescued shinobi with Medical Nin before he made his dash out of the village. To his dismay, he came across three different sets of tracks, each heading off in different directions. The puppet master wasn't sure what path to take when he detected some odd looking sand on the middle path. It stood out from the desert sand. He picked it up and examined it closely.

_This is Gaara's sand!_

The puppet master dashed off and followed the second path. He was met with another set of differing tracks, but he looked for Gaara's sand and continued on his way. He caught up with them eventually at the same time that Team Kakashi arrived. He didn't expect Temari to be with them, much less an unknown kunoichi with the team but it was a welcomed sight. Now he had more allies that he could work with. He was prepared to fight. The two men stopped in their tracks and saw the group of ninja surrounding them.

"Looks like we got company, Sasori." Deidara said.

"Hm." Sasori grunted.

Sasori faced Kankuro while Deidara faced the other group of Ninjas. He recognized the Jinchuriki of the Nine Tailed Fox Demon and most of Team Kakashi. He recognized the third sand sibling but not the pretty kunoichi that was clearly part of the Leaf Village. He smirked as he prepared clay bombs with the mouths on the palms of his hands. This was going to be bang!

* * *

I observed Deidara closely as he stood on his clay bird. His hands were inside two bags, which clearly held his clay. I warned the rest of the team to be careful since he was preparing something explosive. I had to refrain from using the word 'bang' since Deidara used it. The team prepared themselves to fight. Kakashi actually removed his mask and revealed his Sharingan eye. Now I knew that the timeline had changed. Kakashi didn't reveal his Sharingan eye again until later in the series but here he was revealing it.

"I've never seen you before." Deidara said to me with interest. "Leader made no mention of you. Hn."

I stood my ground, my face blank. There was no way I was going to let this creep intimidate me. As a matter of fact, he kind of reminded me of one of my father's young companions. A little feminine and had a tendency to come on to me and that was exactly what Deidara was portraying. I shivered but the very thought of calling him a girl made me want to giggle, but I bit my tongue. This guy was a freaking terrorist that had been recruited by Itachi Uchiha, which clearly indicates just how dangerous he was. When he launched his first attack, I countered with my Fire Spin Jutsu.


	15. Chapter 15

Things were very intense, as I thought they would be. I took several good hits from Deidara, but not once did he attack me with bombs. He attacked the others with bombs but not me. I thought that this was very odd, but, of course, there was no time to reflect on this. Naruto and Kakashi were hellbent on recovering Gaara, who was still unconscious. They weren't getting anywhere with him so I decided to take a chance while they kept the blonde engaged in battle. I discreetly created a few shadow clones and had one clone throw several large shurikens while I hid in the shadow of one (if you recall the battle vs. Zabuza as he held Kakashi captive in a water prison and Naruto had Sauske throw said weapons at Zabuza and Naruto reappeared from the shadows to attack). I followed the path of one shuriken, which was really aimed at the bird (Deidara just happened to be in the way), as the blonde Akatsuki member dodged. I emerged from the shadows and successfully recovered an unconscious Kazekage by forcefully cutting through the clay with a kunai knife. Deidara was about to come after me if it hadn't been for my clones.

"Alright!" Naruto cheered.

"Keep focused!" I yelled at him.

Kakashi and Naruto attacked their opponent while Sakura hurried towards me, successfully breaking away from the battle. I laid Gaara carefully on the ground and she began her treatment. I erected a shield made of chakra to protect the both of us. This was a technique that I had perfected in my spare time and it was coming in handy right now. I looked at the two ensuing battles between the Akatsuki and the Leaf and Sand Ninja and they seemed to heat up with each passing moment. I then turned back to the unconscious Kazekage. His face was slowly repairing itself and that was an excellent sign. He was slowly improving.

"How serious is he?" I asked of Gaara.

"Serious, but not critical." Haruno replied.

I was relieved. I thought his condition would have been far worse. Thankfully we had made it in time. I looked over at the battle between Sasori and the two older sand siblings. They were doing much better than I thought they would and holding their own quite well. The future had been altered because of my presence and because of the information that I gave to the villages involved. Of course, be consequences somewhere down the line, for there are consequences for every action, after all. If Kankuro didn't get poisoned by Sasori then Temari might as a consequence of my interference. Thankfully, that wasn't the case. Sasori was clearly frustrated with the way the battle was going, but not as frustrated as Deidara. I knew he was pissed and that he would come after me at a later date. I didn't care, though. I expect him to pursue me somewhere down the line if he escaped from this battle.

"Deidara," Sasori said carefully. "We must retreat."

"WHAT?!"

"We will not win this fight if we continue."

Deidara glared at me hatefully. I returned his stare coolly and calmly, which irritated him more. He threatened that, should we meet again, he would make me suffer incredible pain and that he would enjoy my screams. I was very familiar with this threat. My father had often used this particular threat to get me do what he wanted to do (getting him more drugs in most cases) and so did his young companion if he didn't get laid for one reason or another. I did not let this bother me as much because their threats had been empty and baseless. However, this was the Akatsuki and they carried out all threats made and I could feel it in my bones. It was frightening but I did not show it. Sasori curiously observed me for a couple of minutes before Deidara set off a few bombs, allowing the two of them escape.

"Damn it!" Kankuro growled.

Temari ran over towards us girls, worried for her brother. I dropped my chakra shield, which had put some strain on me. I had mastered the technique for the most part, but I still needed more stamina to keep it up. The blonde kunoichi stayed with the youngest of the three sand siblings as Sakura continued to work on Gaara. I walked over to Naruto and Kakashi, who looked no worse for the wear. The two shinobi took some heavy damage from the one Akatsuki member but the damage wasn't something that neither one couldn't handle. We all looked at each other, no words exchanged, before we returned to Gaara and the rest of the gang.

"Ahhh..." I heard Gaara sigh.

"Gaara!"

Sakura didn't let up on healing him but once she was satisfied with her work, she sat back and relaxed-while keeping an eye on her patient. I smiled at the heartwarming sight as Gaara slowly sat up and looked at everyone around him. He looked at his hands, unstaring. I could tell that he was feeling like a failure after being defeated by Deidara, but Kankuro reminded him that he had protected the village with his own power and that was what made him an excellent leader. Naruto cheerfully agreed.

"How did you know...?" He asked quietly.

Kankuro explained the entire situation, though Kakashi kept his eye on me the entire time. He was thinking about my story and how I 'knew' that everything was going to happen beforehand. I looked at him briefly, but said nothing. Temari looked over at me, as if she remembered my presence. She walked over to me and thanked me for saving her brother's life. I merely smiled. Gaara and Kankuro both looked over at me, seeing me for the first time since the whole fiasco.

"A new teammate?" Gaara asked Naruto.

He nodded. I told them my story.

A/N: Merry Christmas!


	16. Chapter 16

A/N: Hope everyone had a good Christmas. 2014 is upon us! Happy New Years in advance!

The Land of Rivers

(Akatsuki Base)

Deidara and Sasori returned to the base, which was located in the Land of Rivers. The blonde shinobi angrily broke the seal and the boulder, which acted as a door, rose to the air and allowed entrance to their hideout. The ex-shinobi of the Sand (Red Sand more precisely) stared at his partner before telling him that it did no good to dwell on the past and that dwelling on it would only lead to future disappointment. Deidara didn't think so but he let his anger go for the time being and just thought about how he would hurt the pretty kunoichi. They would meet again and he counted on it. Even if they didn't, he would seek her out and destroy her.

Sasori just sighed, knowing just how much of a one-track mind his partner had, before turning his attention to a hologram. The hologram was in the form of a man that had spiky hair and eyes that had multiple rings in them. This was the leader of the Akatsuki, the one who had ordered the capture of the Jinchuriki. Deidara reluctantly admitted to the leader that they had failed in their mission, but said nothing else. He was too humiliated to continue his report. His partner took up the rest of the explanation, exasperated.

"The Leaf Ninja have a new teammate." The puppet master said. "There is no known information about her."

"A kunoichi?"

Deidara growled, which earned him a reproving glance from the mysterious Akatsuki leader. The blonde shinobi was clearly having a hard time accepting the fact that he had to retreat from battle. He had to remind Deidara that retreating from battle was sometimes necessary in order to gather and compile information about unknown opponents so that they can figure out how to deal with them. Sasori reported that the kunoichi dealt in fire-based jutsus and wind-based jutsus. The leader listened very closely until he said:

"Keep an eye on her. She might become a threat in the future if she as is good as you claim she is."

"Yes, leader."

...

The Villiage Hidden in the Sand

I was dead tired. The Kazekage welcomed us to stay another day in his village, which we took up. I had taken a nice hot bath and healed most of my injuries from the battle and prepared to hit the sack. Kakashi had gone back out to send a message to the Leaf Village to tell the Hokage of our success in our mission and that the Kazekage was safe and back where he belonged. Thankfully, no one in the village noticed that the Kazekage had vanished. They had all assumed that he had some kind of mission to tend to and that he would be back in a matter of time. The Sand siblings were relieved and very thankful to have their young brother back, alive and well.

I tried to keep the attention off of me, but Naruto wouldn't have it and insisted that I should get all of the credit. I was rather embarrassed, but a bit flattered as well. Naruto was a well-meaning ninja but he was living up to his hyperactive nature and I couldn't be mad at him because of that. Kakashi told him to cool it, but he agreed that I should get all of the credit because I knew what was going to happen and that I acted on my decision to save an innocent life at the cost of altering the course of history. Who knew what was going to happen next?

The Sand Siblings thanked me for saving their younger brother and that they would be indebted to me for as long as they lived. I had no idea how to respond to that, except blush. I wasn't used to such humility and kindness but it was a good feeling to be exposed to. However, I knew that not everyone would be humble and kind. This was the ninja world, for heaven's sake! There were going to be ninja that would be extremely cruel and ruthless, just like the ones I faced off with, today.

_Time to call it a day. _I thought.

I turned out the lights and got underneath the covers of the blankets and fell asleep.

A/N: Happy New Year everyone! I hope everyone is well! Here is a new chapter for my Naruto Fan Fic. Feedback is always welcomed!


	17. Chapter 17

The Hidden Leaf Village

We returned to the Leaf Village two days later. Our mission was a complete success and the Hokage was very pleased with the outcome. After everything was said and done, Lady Tsunade said that she was willing to take me on as an apprentice instead of Ino (who had been sent on a long mission and wouldn't be back for quite sometime). I kept my face blank but, deep down, I was kind of excited. I've always wanted to do something rather productive with my life for a change. Back in the other world, my parents were hellbent on keeping me down and providing them with the alcoholic beverages and drugs. I was the scapegoat for them should they have gotten caught. I would have taken the fall and I would have gone to prison for their crime. My parents weren't idiots when it came to their habits. Tsunade smirked at me, bringing me out of my thoughts.

"You can smile, you know." The Hokage said. "You'll start training tomorrow morning. Dismissed."

Kakashi took off to read his newest book by Jiraiya while I decided to hang out with Naruto. In the time that I had arrived here, Naruto and I had become really good friends. We were more like brother and sister, often pulling pranks on each other and getting yelled at by the neighbors if we were being loud. It was fun. He was definitely the brother I never had. I was an only child and, considering the home life that I had suffered, I was glad that I didn't have any other siblings. They would have suffered as much as I would have and I would have had to protect them. Don't get me wrong, I believe in protecting the innocent but I would have taken most of the beatings for them so, nevertheless, I was glad not to have siblings in that family.

"So you're going to train with Grandma Tsunade?" Naruto asked.

"Uh, huh." I nodded.

Since I would be training to be a medic, I would have to refrain from participating in battle in order to insure that the rest of the team survived. However, I got the feeling that this would be different. Since the Narutoverse timeline had been altered, the rules here were more than likely to have changed as well. Sakura Haruno was a trained medic but she had to refrain from battle just for the reason that I gave. However, since there would be two medics, I would probably be trained the same way as Haruno with the exception that I would be able to participate in battle. As far as I know, that was a possibility in itself. Naruto and I discussed this possibility and he was all for it because he knew for a fact that fighting a medic would make things extremely difficult for the opponent.

"I would know." Naruto said.

I nodded again. I remembered the time that Naruto, Jiraiya and Tsunade had faced off with Orochimaru and Kabuto that one time. I clearly remembered that Kabuto had used his medical skills to cut the muscles in Naruto's heart, which would have killed him if it hadn't been for the Nine-Tails (if I recall correctly) stepping in. If Naruto had died, then the fox demon would have died along with his Jinchuriki, thus he had to save Naruto. I shivered at the thought before shaking that cold feeling off. I knew that the adventure here in the Narutoverse was only beginning. There would be more trials and tribulations to face and definitely more Akatsuki to face off. Deidara had a grudge against me, so I had a good feeling that I would more than likely be facing off with him again sometime in the future. If that was the case, then my training with Tsunade could not have come at a better time. I would definitely have a better chance against the blonde shinobi.

"I'm going to hang out with Konohamaru," Naruto told me. "I don't feel like training right now."

"You? You don't feel like training? What's wrong with you, Naruto?" I teased.

He gave me a big, wolfish grin before taking off. That was fine with me. In the meantime, I would do some meditation before I began my own personal training.


	18. Chapter 18

Naruto's POV

I was sitting at Ichiraku's Ramen Shop when I saw Mina coming up the street. She was looking kind of exhausted and it could only have been from Grandma Tsunade's harsh training. I heard that she took on my friend as an apprentice, which was awesome. I knew that she would be an amazing medic nin, like Sakura. I stuck my head out and flagged my fellow ninja down. I figure that I would treat her to some ramen, but I would have to make her pay half the bill. My frog coin purse was just about empty...no thanks to pervy sensei who spent most of it at brothels and on women.

_Stupid pervert._

"Oi! Mina!" I called.

Her eyes brightened when she saw me and she hurried inside to join me. She plunked down on a stool right next to me and stretched, cracking her neck. I cringed when she did that, only because it reminded me of Orochimaru. A shiver ran down my spine as I thought of that snake...the same snake that drew Sauske away from the Leaf Village. I shook that thought out of my head. I was still determined on bringing my brother back one way or the other. He might have turned his back on the village but I would never turn my back on him.

"Hi, Naruto!" Mina greeted me! "I shouldn't be surprised that you're here."

I chuckled. I was here a lot of the time when I wasn't busy. Ramen was my life!

_Slurp!_

Mina was the only person out of my comrades (alright, maybe Hinata) that didn't seemed to be bothered by my eating habits, but that was probably because she knew how I ate ahead of time. Mina ordered some ramen for herself. She looked really happy here in the village but I couldn't help but wonder what her life was like in her world. Not her home life, though, because she already told me that part. I bet it was just as sad as her home life. I bet her parents never let her live it. I still saw the sadness in her eyes, despite being happy here in the Leaf.

"Hey, Mina." I said carefully. "What was your life like before you came here?"

...

Mina's (OC) POV

I swallowed my ramen as I contemplated Naruto's question. I knew exactly where he was going with that question. He was referring to my life on the outside. Well, I never did live a life outside because my parents were forcing me into buying them drugs and booze. If I did have a life, it was spent on supporting my parents' habits. I could feel Naruto's blue eyes burn into me. I sighed sadly before I answered him. He was my friend and he deserved to know everything about me

"I never did have a normal life." I began.

I told him about my parents' drug and alcohol abuse and how I was forced into buying the stuff for them. I explained to my comrade that in order for my parents to avoid prison time, they would send me out to the streets and to a nearby drug house with plenty of money on me. There were times that I actually had to seduce some of the men there in order to get the money. Thankfully, I never had to pimp myself out to the guys, although there were a few times that men had approached me and there were the few times that my parents tried to get me to prostitute myself. I sighed. Those were the times that I defied my parents and got beaten for it.

I could feel Naruto's anger as I continued my story. However, I didn't notice that Haruno, Kakashi, and Iruka had joined our little powwow. I was just so lost in memories. I remembered the lashings that I took from my mother as she took a whip to my bare back. I could still feel the leather come into contact with my skin and the pain that followed. I could remember all of the punches that I took from my father. I could still feel my jaw break and a large fist digging into my stomach.

"Control yourself, Naruto." Iruka said gently.

I delved into my past even further. I didn't realize just how far I gotten into my past when I heard Naruto scream:

"STOP IT!"

"Naruto!" Sakura exclaimed. "Calm down!"

He forced himself to take several breaths and his red eyes, which I hadn't noticed until now, reverted back to blue. He was remembering his own past and Iruka and Kakashi both knew it. He hadn't been treated very kindly, either. He and I were a lot alike, now that I thought about it. We were both treated like crap and we were outcasts. I tried to calm him down and told him that my horrible life was now in the past and that it should stay there for good. Sure, there would be some reminders but the pain that I felt had dulled and that I had a new home away from my old home. I had friends and family to speak of.

"Which includes you, Naruto." I said.

I told him that I considered him a brother that I never had and that the rest of the ninja that we were acquainted with were my family now. Nothing could take that away from us. We both had dreams to speak of as well.

"I didn't have a dream before I came here, but now I do."

The rest of the afternoon was spent telling stories.


	19. Chapter 19

A/N: I had to think really hard about how I should continue this story. After looking over some reviews and taking them into consideration (I might have to re-edit chapter 17 or 18), this is the result. I hope you guys enjoy and I must thank YukiTenVianey Team for their reviews. They have been really helpful and making me think really hard! LOL! Thanks again, guys! On to the story!

DISCLAIMER: None of these characters are mine! Only Mina is!

Mina's POV

There was still so much to learn. Just because I completed the Academy didn't mean that I knew what there was to know about the ninja world. The ninja world was constantly expanding and changing (case in point, my unprecedented appearance here in Narutoverse) and new jutsus were being invented. I was still learning new techniques. Just because I suddenly excelled at Taijutsu doesn't mean that I'm a master at it. I can only assume that my talent for taijutsu came from my days of fighting off dopers and drug traffickers that my parents had always sent me to. If they got to touching and groping me, my need to fight them away came to the surface. Of course, that always got me into trouble with my parents since they would lose out on drug deals. My instinct, according to Jiraiya, hasn't died despite the transition I had to make from my world to Naruto's world. Good instincts, after all, were what made a good ninja.

I sighed and took a deep breath. I needed to clear my thoughts before I could begin my solo training session. My training often suffered if I allowed myself to think of those horrible days. Once I took the time to clear my head, I began with a little bit of taijutsu to warm up and stretch my body out a bit. I created a few shadow clones, precisely how Naruto had shown me, and I proceeded to spar with them. I came up with the idea of making my clones stronger than me. I wasn't sure how to proceed with such an idea, of course, but it was worth pondering. If I succeeded, then it would become a useful training tool. This was something I would have to discuss with Jiraiya or Kakashi if I saw them.

"Alright, ladies." I said to my clones. "Come at me all at once."

They complied with my order and they bombarded me. It was as expected. The blows I took were numerous and painful but I managed to fight back somehow with taijutsu, dispelling some of my clones upon physical contact. Dodging all of those attacks was no longer an option at this point so I decided to throw in some ninjutsu and increase my chakra flow, which strengthened me quite a bit and allowed me to fight the clones on a somewhat equal level. After all, most battles were going to involve taijutsu and ninjutsu (and genjutsu if you're unlucky enough), so I couldn't just focus on one element of fighting. Thankfully, unlike my previous training sessions, I didn't have to increase my chakra flow by much, which was a clear improvement. I still had a long ways to go before I could even consider myself as an expert in anything.

Once all of my clones were defeated, I decided to work on ninjutsu as a separate element. That was an area that I still needed to improve on. I was good, but I knew I could be better. I reflected on my battle with Deidara. My Fire Spin jutsu was powerful, but I realized that it had been quite unstable when I had first launched it. It looked like it had been wobbling back and forth as it targeted my opponent. While it did hit him, I was almost sure that it lost power because of the wobbling. So that was what I needed to work on.

_Stability._ I thought.

I punched a deep hole into the ground of training ground 44. That would be used as a focal point for the base of my fire spin. If I was going to stabilize my attack, I needed something to balance the base of the tornado (since, essentially, that was what my fire spin was). I decided to take this on at a moderate distance; not too close to the hole but not too far away from it either.

_Ninja Art: Fire Spin Jutsu!_

I directed my attack at the hole in the ground. As I hoped, it kept my attack balanced. I repeated this exercise repeatedly until I was confident that I could use this attack again without the use of the hole. It took me a couple of hours to have it perfected, but once I got it down, I was beaming. Practice made perfect. Now, it was onto the next project...my wind blade. This was a very new technique and I knew that I was going to have to enlist Naruto's help since he dealt with the wind element. For now, I would have to work on developing its shape. How? I have no freaking idea.

"Well, damn."

My wind blade went on the back burner instead. I had a general idea of how to develop it, but putting it into practice was another thing. I couldn't find Naruto or Kakashi anywhere (though I had a better idea where that particular idiot was) so I decided to put that project to the side until I figured out how to develop that jutsu. The idea of making stronger clones seemed to be a more ideal project. All it involved was increasing chakra flow. That was my theory anyway and what better way to find out than to put that theory into practice?

* * *

Akatsuki Base (The Land of Rivers)

"Deidara, control your anger." Sasori admonished.

The blonde was punching trees and detonating his clay birds in the middle of nowhere in The Land of Rivers. He still nursed a grudge against the young kunoichi that humiliated him in battle. Even though his partner had recognized that they would have been defeated, Deidara wasn't the type to go down without a fight (or without a bang). He intended on getting his revenge. Sasori, on the other hand, preferred on taking a more methodical approach when it came to his opponents. He needed a little extra time to study his young opponent a bit more so he could familiarize himself with her fighting style. It just wouldn't do to rush into a battle again, though he couldn't say the same thing for his partner, who was apt to rush in without thinking.

"Not until I get my hands on that little bitch." The blonde growled.

His one blue eye blazed with an angry fire as he thought of the most graphic ways to terrorize that damned kunoichi. He detonated another clay bird as a way to vent his anger, which didn't really help anything. It only served to annoy Sasori. The two Akatsuki members had been redeployed to capture another Jinchuriki instead by their mysterious leader. If they did come across the young kunoichi again, they were ordered to kidnap her and bring her back to the base in order to interrogate her. Deidara had asked the leader if he could have her afterwards.

"Just don't kill her." Was all that the leader said.

_Damn._ Deidara thought.


	20. Chapter 20

Akatsuki Base

Deidara held the now unconscious Jinchuriki with his clay bird. They had managed to find the five-tailed demon somewhere in the Grass nation. This particular Jinchuriki was found in the wilderness, abandoned by their unnamed village, thus making him a target for the two Akatsuki members. An intense battle had ensued, with the Jinchuriki taking on it's five-tailed cloak, but, in the end, he was defeated and taken captive by the blonde. Sasori urged his partner to hurry up and that he hated to make people wait longer than necessary. Deidara had a smirk on his face but he followed his partner.

"You're in a better mood, Deidara." Sasori noted. "Burned off your frustration, did you?"

"Hn."

Deidara was in much better spirits since his humiliation, but that didn't mean that he had let the past go. He was still planning on destroying that little girl but it would be with his bare hands. No clay, no nothing. If it hadn't been for the leader's orders, he would have dispatched her with his clay. Even if things didn't go right, he would make sure that her death was an accident. She had to be taught a lesson after all. You do not mess with a member of the Akatsuki, humiliate them and get away with it...not in one piece, anyway. He would give her hell.

...

The two men returned to the base a couple of days later with their victim in tow. Their leader appeared, via astral projection, along with the rest of the organization and summoned the King of Hell statue (known as Gedou Mazou) in preparation for the demon extraction. Each member took their place on the fingers of the King of Hell (save for the leader). The leader advised his organization to check upon on their bodies in the real world as this ritual took three days and nights to complete.

"Let's begin."

The leader performed the necessary hand signs for the ritual, while each member took proper stance for what was about to happen...

"Sealing Technique...Nine Phantom Dragons..."

The mouth of the statue open and nine eerie-looking dragons emerged and surrounded the captured host, beginning the painful extraction of the five-tailed demon.

* * *

Mina's POV

I had been taking a short nap underneath a tree at the training grounds when I felt something in the timeline shift. Don't ask me how I can feel such a phenomenon as it is still unknown to me as well. I didn't realize that I had company with me at the time when I shot up. My heart was beating fast and I felt such an ominous feeling. I couldn't shake this feeling off. Something evil was in the air and something was either happening now or it was going to happen sometime in the future. Either way, it was a dark feeling that I could not get rid of.

"Are you okay, Mina?"

"Huh?"

Sakura had apparently shown up for some solo training as well (based on some training gear) and clearly didn't expect me to be here. My face must have given my state of mind away because she became concerned for me. I recomposed myself and tried to ignore what I just felt, but my teammate urged me to tell me what was going on. I admitted to her that I had gotten an awful feeling, like something bad was going to happen (or was happening now-for all I knew, the Akatsuki most likely found another Jinchuuriki and was performing the extraction). I told her that I felt the timeline shift again and not for the better. I wasn't sure what was going to happen. So much has changed since I have arrived here, some of it for the worse and some of it for the better.

"Before I forget," Sakura said. "The Hokage would like to see you."

"Alright."

I dashed off towards the tower, briefly wondering what she wanted with me. I was so lost in my thoughts that I nearly bowled Naruto and Kakashi over. I apologized and continued on my way. I jumped, however, when Kakashi put his hand on my shoulder. That was when he knew something was wrong, but he saved it for later since all three of us, apparently, were summoned for the Hokage. This could only mean that we were going on a mission. What kind of mission? Well, when we entered the Hokage's office, she explained that the Land of Waves was in need of assistance in dispatching some rogue ninja. I was kind of surprised by this, but I had to keep in mind that things had changed since my arrival. Nothing was going to be the same ever again.

_Deja vu, anybody?_

This mission was to last from three to seven days, depending on the amount of rogue ninja was there. We would also provide extra assistance to the village if needed, hence the extra four days. That ominous feeling that I felt earlier returned at full force. Kakashi wanted to know what bothered me, even though he probably knew what the answer was since this wasn't the first time that I had this feeling. I simply warned the two shinobi to be prepared for a dangerous mission that was ahead of us before I stalked off to my apartment to pack for the mission.

* * *

Naruto's POV

"Do you think that this mission will actually be dangerous, Kakashi-sensei?" I asked curiously.

Honestly, I couldn't see anything dangerous about this mission. We've both made the trip before to the Land of Waves and that turned out to be dangerous, so why should it be any different? I looked at the solemn look that the man had in his eye. Whenever he got that serious look in his eye, it meant that there was something on this mission that we had to be aware of. He turned his attention onto me and he nodded.

"We've got to be careful." Kakashi said.

We both left to prepare for the upcoming mission. I got the feeling that this mission would be even more dangerous than the last time.


	21. Chapter 21

Team Kakashi

We traveled the few days that it took to get to the Land of Waves. The rogue ninja that were surrounding the village were not much of a challenge, but were enough for the villagers to call upon us for help. In the time that we were there (as guests), the village had improved since Gato's tyranny over it. It was more peaceful and the villagers were more receptive (since I saw them on T.V. anyway) to our presence. Inari and his grandfather had been pleased to see Naruto and Kakashi again. I was properly introduced to them and they were pleasant enough. However, I just couldn't keep my head in the game. I could not get rid of that foreboding feeling that I felt. It could only mean that whatever danger that I sensed was yet to come. I kept my face as calm as I could but my body was a bundle of nerves. Naruto gave me a curious stare with his blue eyes and frowned briefly before returning to our hosts, who failed to notice his glance over to me. They had no idea of the danger that we were to face on the way out of the village.

As soon as we left the gates of Inari's village, I started to feel out for any unwanted guests. I took a few deep breaths to quash my uneasiness, but I still got that sense of danger. Kakashi and Naruto were also on full alert. So far there was no one in sight, but that didn't mean that we wouldn't meet anybody along the way. It would take us two days to get back to the village and we already spent three in the Land of Waves. My tension disappeared, but I wasn't about to let my guard down anytime soon.

Naruto stood behind me as we walked and rubbed my shoulders in a friendly and soothing way. I knew he meant to get my mind off of things and it worked for a time but as soon as his hands left, my mind quickly reverted to the impending danger. I kept my mouth silent and my face blank, but I knew I wasn't fooling Kakashi. I could feel his one eye staring at me. He told me that worrying would solve anything. I agreed with this so I tried to occupy myself with a game with Naruto.

_Danger will appear when it wants to._

* * *

Akatsuki Base

The Jinchuuriki of the five-tailed beast fell to the ground once the sealing technique was completed, dead. The extraction was complete and another eye on the King of Hell statue opened, indicating the capture of another beast. Each member of the Akatsuki relaxed their stances and gathered their bearings. They would continue their search for the remaining tailed beasts-the eight-tails and nine-tails-and to kill those who interfered with their mission.

"However," Leader said. "Capture the kunoichi and bring her back alive. She'll be essential to luring the nine-tails out."

Mina's description was circulated among the rogue shinobi. Deidara went stiff when he heard of her name but kept his anger in check. Sasori looked at his partner and reminded him that the past was the past and that he had an opportunity to face her again. The blonde relented. His partner was the better man here and he knew what was best. Deidara relaxed and took comfort in the fact that there would definitely be another chance to get even with the kunoichi. Revenge would taste sweet and even sweeter when her blood covered his hands. He smirked once they were dismissed and re-deployed to continue their search. The path that the two men took would cross the path of the incoming Leaf Ninja.

* * *

Team Kakashi

_Damn. That awful feeling came back._

My instincts were continuously telling me that we were going to run into some trouble rather soon. We were in day one of our travels and there was still one whole day left to travel. What's worse: we were in a forest. Naruto stayed next to me while Kakashi decided to take the lead. We were halfway through the first day when we came to a sudden halt. We suddenly put our backs to one another, weapons drawn and bodies tense. I felt out the chakra signatures of our unexpected...and unwelcome...guests. These were very familiar and, unfortunately, our paths crossed once again. I didn't think it would be so soon, but here we were again. I was prepared to fight back even harder than before.

"Twice in a month, hn?"

I came face to face with Deidara and he had a furious look in his eye. He was definitely still sore from the last battle when he was forced to retreat and had every intention of coming after me. Well, there was no time like the present. Deidara launched the first attack with clay spiders and detonated them. We all spread out in every which way and the battle began. Sasori took on both Kakashi and Naruto while the blond focused his angry attention on me. He continuously threw clay bombs at me. I managed to protect myself with my chakra shield but the onslaught continued.

_He's pissed._

I took shelter in the smoke from the detonated bombs and took an opportunity to launch an attack of my own. I used several shurikens to provide as a distraction, which was successful, and then punched him hard in his gut. He crashed into several trees. I followed this up with my fire spin and some super powered clones that I had created. Kakashi and I had discussed how I would pull this off. It had required a moderate amount of chakra to power up each clone that I used and a lot of focus to maintain the level of chakra in said clones. It took me a while to master this since chakra control was essential to mastering my invention and look at me now.

"Bitch..." I heard him growl.

Out of the clear blue sky (unfortunately, I mean that quite literally), he attacked me, kicking me right on the chin. He followed that up with a punch to my stomach and that sent me falling to the forest floor and crashing hard. A large hand picked me up by my neck and squeezed hard. My vision was going dark as I tried to pry that large hand (with the mouth on his palm licking and biting my neck, damn it) with mine small and slender fingers. I could hear Deidara chuckling as I finally passed out.


	22. Chapter 22

A/N: Got a little surprise for you guys in here! After discussing a few things with another fellow writer, I decided I would do a pairing. Who that is...well, you just got to read for yourself. You might find it rather surprising and I will eventually explain this idea in a later chapter. Until then...enjoy!

General POV

"MINA!"

Naruto's rage rose to the surface when he saw the kunoichi struggling against the blonde Akatsuki member. He summoned multiple shadow clones and prepared a rasengan. His target: Sasori. When he got the opportunity, he charged Deidara immediately. The cloaked shinobi saw Naruto headed his way and threw a bomb that he had been preparing with his free hand at the Jinchuuriki. The spider bomb latched itself onto him and exploded. Deidara made a quick getaway with the young kunoichi in tow but not before losing an arm in the process to Kakashi's Sharingan.

The young Jinchuuriki began to pursue Deidara before Kakashi held him back and pulled him away from Sasori's scorpion tail. The Jounin glanced at Naruto and noticed a strange chakra surrounding his former student. A pair of ears took shape and a tail followed along. His facial features took on the form of the fox spirit itself, growing large and sharp canines and his whiskers becoming more defined. Naruto lost his sense of self. The only thing that was on his mind was to kill his enemy and retrieve his mate.

"So this is the Nine-Tailed Fox Spirit." Sasori said.

_The Nine-Tails Cloak._ Kakashi thought.

Naruto immediately charged Sasori, decimating any and all attacks that the puppet master sent his way. Kakashi watched his former student brutally beat his opponent into the ground, shattering his 'body.' The possessed boy realized that he lost sight of his opponent and growled in frustration, searching for any signs of the enemy or his teammate. A nearby clone hunched over in pain, complaining how hot the demon's chakra was. Kakashi thought for a moment on how to get his teammate back on track. He pulled out a seal that had been given to him by Jiraiya and recalled the Sanin's parting words.

_Should the situation call for it, use this._

Jiraiya presented Kakashi the seal after warning him that the Nine Tails would eventually make an appearance. He had also been warned that if that was the case then the demon would have to be dealt with in its one-tailed appearance in order to stop him from going on a killing spree. Unfortunately for the Jonin, a mindless boy with a mission sprouted a second fox tail, which prompted him to produce the seal. He sent a shadow clone in his place in order to get the seal onto Naruto safely. When the possessed shinobi was distracted, Kakashi's clone successfully placed the seal onto his forehead, causing the boy to freeze. The demon's chakra slowly faded and Naruto began to return to normal, falling to his knees and slumped over.

"Are you calm, Naruto?" Kakashi asked.

Naruto remained silent.

* * *

The Land of Rivers

"The girl put up quite a fight, didn't she?"

Sasori observed his partner's current condition. It was to be said that he was quite banged up and lost an arm in the process, though, Deidara said that was because of Kakashi's Sharingan eye. Ah, well. It mattered little. They had achieved their initial goal. Now they would wait for the powerful Nine-Tails to make its pursuit of his teammate. It wouldn't be long.

"She did." Deidara replied with grim satisfaction.

The two men quickly and silently returned to the hideout with their prisoner in tow.

...

Mina's POV

I came to my senses after what seemed like hours later. I found that my wrists were bound with chakra suppressors and my ankles chained to the wall. I was no worse for the wear. I had a few broken ribs, a dislocated shoulder and a sprained ankle. I was surprised that I didn't have any more critical injuries. I couldn't really see much around me, which meant that I was more than likely in the Akatsuki Base. I remembered being strangled by Deidara before I passed out. I had no memories of events afterwards.

Suddenly, I was punched in the stomach and slammed into the dirt wall. I slowly picked myself up to try and face my assailant, only to get smacked across the face. I was weak but I had no intention of showing that weakness. Hell, I had a stubborn streak that stayed with me throughout my childhood, which often got me into trouble and beaten by my parents. I picked myself up again.

"Quite a stubborn one, aren't you, hn?"

_Deidara. I know that voice from anywhere._

I took another punch, to the jaw this time, and slammed against the wall once again. I tried to get up once more, despite hitting my head really hard against the wall. I was close to losing consciousness again. My vision was blurring and darkness was creeping upon me again. I could see him leering at me. Despite the fact that he was only five years older than me, I still thought that he was a dirty old man.

Another A/N: I looked Deidara's age up on a website and it stated that he was currently 19 years old (being the youngest member of the Akatsuki). Even if it is incorrect, I'm sticking with it just for consistency. Hope you guys enjoyed!


	23. Chapter 23

Mina's POV

Deidara was a sadist and he was living up to that reputation. He broke a few more bones, stabbed me with kunais and repeated the entire process. I think what disappointed him was that I wasn't screaming like he wanted me to. I was used to most extreme forms of torture, which made my pain tolerance pretty damn high. The only thing that I haven't experienced-and hopefully, not to-was being sexually assaulted. My father and other men that I had been sent to have tried, but I managed to escape them all (getting beaten in the process). This experience was rather extreme but, as I said, I had the tolerance for it and I was satisfied with how frustrated Deidara was. He was getting nowhere with beating me to a bloody pulp.

"Too bad, I'm not allowed to kill you, hn." He said.

I couldn't move my body at all and I was in extreme pain. I muffled a scream when he stomped on my stomach. I wasn't going to give him the satisfaction of letting him know that I was suffering. He grabbed me by the neck with his only hand, my body hanging in the air limply. I could see the dark joy that he was getting out of beating me despite not being able to kill me. I just gave him a blank look, which took the joy out of his one visible eye and caused me to get smashed into the wall again. I knew that I was being used to lure Naruto here since he was the Jinchuuriki of the Nine-Tails. There was no other reason I could think of why I was here. They were going to use me to get to Naruto.

"I'll make you scream, yet, hn."

"Deidara,"

"Hn?"

Sasori, in all of his youthful glory (no more Hiruko), told the blonde to not damage me any further. Even if the Jinchuuriki didn't show up-which was highly unlikely-I still had my uses to the Akatsuki. They had seen my skills and to be able to fend off S-Ranked criminals was a feat in itself. I would prove to be a useful servant for them in the future. Deidara begrudgingly left me alone once he saw his partner's logic. He respected his partner far too much to disobey him, though I would be one more ninja to hate (the other one being Itachi). The Leader wouldn't be too happy if I turned up dead, though no one wouldn't really care once Naruto came to them. A medical shinobi underneath Sasori's control came to heal me and stripped most of my clothes so I could be bandaged. How embarrassing. My naked body for two men went on display; I could not suppress that blush that came to my face. Sasori stood over me and observed closely, making me blush even more. A look of satisfaction, and appeal, crossed his face.

"She would make a very pretty puppet wouldn't you say? Pure art."

Did he really have to say art? I suppose that if you were Sasori or Deidara, the definition of what art really is varies. In Sasori's case, my very body-for the use of a puppet-was art. The two rogue ninja almost immediately got into an argument about what art really was (i.e. Sasori explaining that art was something that should be enjoyed and looked at for a long time) as they left me in my prison cell, all wrapped up in bandages. Being turned into one of Sasori's puppets was a very scary thought. My corpse would be at his disposal.

_Hope you hurry up, Naruto._

* * *

Team Kakashi

Kakashi stood with Naruto, who was still mentally lost, for a few moments before sending in a message to the Hokage (via one of his Ninja dogs) informing her of the situation. They needed some back-up as soon as possible. He sent several ninja dogs to track the Akatsuki, while he tried to snap Naruto out of his daze. However, it wouldn't be easy for he was trapped within his own mind and traveling towards the demon that inhabited his body. The young shinobi glared at the fox demon. The fox spirit glared at his host back.

"Why'd you bring me here?" Naruto demanded.

"To make sure you understand that my mate is in danger, brat!" The fox sneered.

"Mate?"

A/N: Sorry for this being so short. I will expand on it later. I just wanted you guys to know that this story has not been forgotten! This story has taken an interesting turn with Mina and Naruto. Hope you guys enjoy and reviews, feedback, etc. are welcomed!


	24. Chapter 24

Naruto's POV

"Mate?"

_"Foolish boy. She's your mate, too."_ The demon sneered.

I had no idea in hell what this fur ball was talking about. I didn't know much about girls or what they did in their free time. All I knew was that they got crazy once a month and took it out on me. I knew that they spent a lot of time getting ready for the day but doing what, I had no idea. I just knew that they had to look pretty and that they got crazy. I looked at the damned fur ball like _he_ was crazy, scratching my head in confusion. I didn't have a mate. I didn't harbor any feelings for Mina, if that was what he was talking about...

"What the hell are you talking about?" I demanded.

_"Your teammate, brat. She's our mate."_

"How the hell is that even possible? I don't have any feelings for Mina!"

_"You don't have to have feelings, you dolt! I felt the mating pull towards her. You should have felt it, too!"_

Well, come to think of it, I did feel an odd feeling towards Mina in the beginning when she first got here, but I didn't think of it at the time. Then again, I don't think of anything. I'm the kind of guy who acts now and thinks later...at least that's what the pervy sensei says about me. One thing was for certain, though, Mina needed my help. The Akatsuki could be doing who knows what to her. I growled at the thought. I needed to get out of here before she was harmed anymore. Explanations about this whole mating thing would come later.

_"The blonde mortal has dark intentions for our mate, brat." _The fox said in a suddenly cool voice. _"He needs to be killed."_

* * *

The Land of Rivers/Kakashi

Naruto came out of his dreamlike state, his eyes blue and serious. His teammate was startled but quickly recovered. The blonde shinobi was about to start off when Kakashi held him back. He advised the young man that they have yet to receive information from his ninja dogs in order to confirm where they had taken their female comrade. Naruto immediately protested and said that he needed to get to the fox's mate as soon as they could. This declaration took Kakashi by surprise but he had no time to question it as Pakkun, one of his ninja dogs, had returned to lead them in the right direction to their capture teammate.

"Let's go!" Naruto shouted.

He leaped into the air, leaving a small dent in the ground, and followed Pakkun. Kakashi immediately followed, concerned that Naruto was still under the influence of the Nine-Tails and curious at the last statement that he had made earlier. When they were well on their way, the Jonin took the opportunity to ask what Naruto had meant. After all, this was news to him. He had never heard of a demon taking on a human mate. It was worth asking about it. There was silence between the two shinobi before an answer came.

"The fox thinks that Mina is his mate." He replied.

"Huh?"

Naruto explained how the fox felt a mating pull towards Mina in the beginning. He had felt it, too, but he had shrugged it off as unimportant and how he didn't understand what that was. He continued that he would get more information later from the fox once this whole retrieval mission was over. For now, they needed to focus on getting to the Akatsuki base. Kakashi advised that he had sent a messenger to the Hidden Leaf Village and that they should be hearing back within a day and a half.

"That's a day and a half too long." Naruto growled.

"It's our only chance at getting back up."

"Did you say back-up?" A familiar voice asked.

_A/N: So, who's the back-up and what are they doing in the Land of Rivers? I guess you guys will just have to find out next time! Reviews and feedback always appreciated! See you guys later!_


	25. Chapter 25

A/N: Rating will definitely go up, people, due to sexual implications! You have been warned!

Team Kakashi

Naruto was exceptionally pleased with the unexpected back-up from the Sand Village. Temari stood with her brothers with her fans in tow, Kankuro with his puppets and the Kazekage himself with his gourd. Seeing the Kazekage there with the other siblings was a surprise considering that he had a responsibility to his village, but no one was about to complain. The situation was dire and they needed to retrieve their captured teammate. Temari explained that she had been returning from a trip from the Leaf Village (once again) when she caught wind of one of Kakashi's Ninja dogs. That was how she heard of the situation and Kankuro hadn't been too far out of the way (returning from a mission of his own) when he joined in. Gaara, on the other hand, had been unaware of the entire situation. He just had a strange feeling that he was needed and left Baki in charge until his return.

"Now it's our turn to help." Temari said with a grim smirk.

Kakashi simply nodded and led the group away, following another ninja dog that had reported back to him, towards the Akatsuki base. He informed them of their opponents' status. The blonde Akatsuki member was without one of his arms and the other Akatsuki member managed to escape them, but not before Naruto shattered the puppet master's outer body. They couldn't get a clear visual on his true form but he was no longer using the puppet as a disguise.

"So we should expect to see men?" Temari asked.

"Right."

...

Tsunade/Hidden Leaf Village

The Hokage was sitting at her desk, drinking some of her sake when she received a message from one of Kakashi's ninja dogs. She wasn't expecting them to return until tomorrow, but she wasn't expecting what she was going to find in his message. She was about to open the scroll when her sake cup cracked. She frowned. That was a bad sign and she instinctively knew that something had happened to one of the members on Team Kakashi. She hurried herself to open the scroll and her fear was confirmed.

"Shizune!"

A young woman with short black hair and black eyes immediately entered the room. This was the medical assistant to the Hokage, Shizune. She was always sticking the Hokage with paperwork and hiding her sake. She held a piglet in her arms, which was Tsunade's pet, TonTon. The young Shizune stood at attention.

"Yes, my lady?"

"Find the next available ninja team as fast as you can." She said urgently.

"What's happened?" Shizune asked.

"Mina was captured."

* * *

Akatsuki Base

Mina's POV

That blonde, one-armed, bastard molested me. He had taken advantage of me while I was healing from my previous injuries that he had inflicted on me. Now who would want me? I was tarnished goods. My father had always warned me that nobody would want a girl that had been tainted and raped. Well, father, you got what you wanted. I hope you, mom, and Deidara burn in hell where you all belong. I refused to cry, though. No tough kunoichi allowed herself to cry no matter the situation she was in. This was the philosophy I have always followed, even before I arrived in the Narutoverse. I have taken torture before and being sexually assaulted was no different from other attacks, but was it really different? Of course it was, though I had no intentions of dating anyone in the future considering that my future had been completely re-written and was up in the air. I had lost something that she had worked hard to keep from losing: the very purity that I had remaining.

_Now it's gone. I hope you burn, you bastard._

If it wasn't for these damned chakra suppressors, I would have probably made a run for it. Then again, where would I go? If I remembered correctly, the base had at least five seals to keep anyone from entering or leaving and I had no idea where the hell they were, anyway. I don't know what's better: death and being turned into one of Sasori's puppets or being beaten and tortured and being kept alive. Either way, neither choice sounded appealing. All I could do from keeping myself from going insane was lose myself in happier memories and the joys that kept me sane. I had no wish to think of the dark thoughts that I had to deal with.

I was about to doze off because of just how exhausted I was when the door to my cell opened. I glared at my visitor.

"Even after all of that torture, you still want to fight, hn?" Deidara asked. "Very stubborn kunoichi, indeed."

"Quit playing around, Deidara." Sasori's voice suddenly reprimanded. "We need her in good condition if she's to be of use to us."

Deidara frowned but said nothing. He left me alone, leaving the cell, and Sasori was about to follow when he suddenly turned his attention to me. I sensed that he had a warning for me. He slowly approached me and got down on one knee. I kept my glare on, making him smirk. He said that my glare was rather amusing. That was when grabbed my face and told me that the Akatsuki really had no use for me, except maybe being a strong arm for them, and that once they captured the Nine-Tails that they were going to discard me.

"That sounds about right." I said sarcastically.

"But you'd serve me well as a puppet. Pretty, yet deadly."

Sasori let me go and he left me alone in my cell.


End file.
